Kansas sports betting market in jeopardy following budget vote
State lawmakers approve a budget provision that prevents sports betting operators from negotiating or extending their current licenses in 2025 or 2026
The long-term future of Kansas’ sports betting market hangs in the balance following last-minute amendments made to the state’s budget last week.
Kansas’ House of Representatives voted through a budget provision that prevents sports betting operators in the state from extending their current licenses during the 2025 or 2026 fiscal years.
The amendment to Senate Bill 125 was approved on the last day of Kansas’ legislative session on 11 April.
Under the existing framework, Kansas’ sports betting legislation allows for up to 12 sportsbooks in the state.
Sportsbooks must be partnered with one of the state’s four land-based casinos, which themselves are managed by the state lottery, with the new budget provision preventing the Kansas Lottery from engaging in license renewals.
The budget provision reads that the Kansas Lottery will not be allowed “to negotiate or enter into any contract or extension or renewal of an existing contract for the management of sports wagering with any lottery gaming facility manager.”
The operators currently in the Sunflower State include DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Fanatics Sportsbook, Caesars Sportsbook, and ESPN Bet.
Kansas-based players will still be able to place bets in the state for the time being, with no indication the market will shutter imminently.
Each operator’s license is set to expire on 31 August, 2027, as confirmed by Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) president Jeremy Kudon on X.
Kudon also alleged that state lawmakers “had no idea when these contracts expired and were willing to take your favourite OSB apps away from Kansas,” claiming that the SBA is “not going to let that happen.”
The new budget provision expires on 30 June, 2026, at which point regulators will then be able to extend licenses.
While the state’s sports betting market isn’t in immediate danger, lawmakers can vote to extend the provision again once it expires.
Kansas legalized sports betting in 2022, with a tax rate of 10% in place, one of the lowest tax burdens for operators across the US.
As per the Kansas Lottery, the state’s operators reported handle of $248.4m in March, with combined revenue of $8m.
Q1 performance in the state saw total handle hit $2.1bn, revenue reach $131.9m, and tax returns to the state of $13.2m.
Democratic Governor Laura Kelly vetoed a similar budget provision preventing license extensions earlier this year.
The House and Senate, which are under Republican control, overrode the original decision as part of a wider series of vetoes.
No new sports betting legislation was introduced by state lawmakers during this latest legislative session.